Vendors identify a coconut's readiness by sound alone, tapping the husk with a cutlass and listening for the hollow pitch that means it's full of water rather than pulp.
Green coconuts are macheted open on the spot and served with a straw, then split afterward so the vendor can carve a spoon from the husk to scoop out the jelly.
Why it's made this way: Maracas Bay's coconut palms and steady beach crowds support one of Trinidad's most concentrated stretches of coconut vendors, a fixture beside every bake and shark stall.